Live Wire: Kapanen questionable for start of camp ... Opener in Philadelphia set for 5:30 start ... Seven days of actual practice at camp

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KAPANEN MIGHT MISS START OF CAMP

1:35 p..m. Wednesday: The Penguins are counting on Kasperi Kapanen to play right wing on the No. 1 line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel this season, but there's no guarantee he will be in that spot when on-ice workouts begin Monday.

Kapanen is in his native Finland, where he is dealing with immigration issues that could prevent him from being at PPG Paints Arena for the start of training camp.

"We're not sure at this point," Mike Sullivan said. "Right now, I'll tell you that my expectation is that he'll be here, but obviously, there are certain things that are out of our control."

Training camp officially starts Sunday, but that day will be devoted to physicals, a team meeting and other off-ice matters. -- Molinari

OPENER SCHEDULED FOR 5:30

3:55 p.m. Tuesday: The Penguins' regular-season opener in Philadelphia Jan. 13 will begin at 5:30 p.m., per an announcement by NBCSN, which will carry it as the first game in a triple-header that day.

Other Penguins games scheduled to appear on that network are March 7 vs. New York Rangers and March 24 vs. Buffalo, while NBC will carry games Jan. 17 against Washington, Feb. 14 against Washington, April 17 at Buffalo and April 25 against Boston. -- Molinari

NOT MUCH TIME TO GET READY

2:10 p.m. Tuesday: The Penguins open training camp Sunday and play their first game of the regular season Jan. 13 in Philadelphia, which doesn't leave much time to get ready. And there's even less than it seems.

Mike Sullivan said Tuesday that he anticipates having just seven days of actual practices during camp, with other days lost to physicals and mandatory time off. 

Consequently, he said the coaching staff "probably will not get to every aspect" of the team's systems during the preseason, and that the emphasis will be on preparing the players for 5-on-5 situations.

Because there are no exhibition games, Sullivan said the Penguins plan to have multiple scrimmages and one mock game day, when the Penguins will scrimmage at 7 p.m. after following a typical game-day routine.

• While he didn't detail how Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith will share the goaltending workload, Sullivan said both can expect to be busy. The condensed 56-game schedule, he said, "is going to require that two goaltenders participate."

• Sullivan suggested that the Penguins have a pretty good idea of what their opening night roster will look like, but made it clear that he expects the camp to be quite competitive.

• Zach Aston-Reese's recovery from shoulder surgery remains on track, Sullivan said, adding that "there are a number of candidates to replace him" on a line with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev. 

• Sullivan's conference-call connection cut out about midway through the session. It seems that he had forgotten to recharge his laptop after a lengthy online meeting with his assistants Monday. -- Molinari

BACK ON THE ICE

3:24 p.m. Monday: Sights, sounds from actual, if informal, hockey activity that happened today at PPG Paints Arena. Celebrate accordingly. -- DK

PENGUINS INVITE 40 TO CAMP 

1:10 p.m. Monday: The Penguins have invited 40 players -- 23 forwards, 13 defensemen and four goaltenders -- to the training camp that begins Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Top prospects such as forwards Samuel Poulin, Drew O'Connor and Nathan Legare and defensemen Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Cam Lee and Josh Maniscalco are among those scheduled to attend.

From that group, the coaching staff and management will select up to 23 players the regular-season roster, and four to six members of a "taxi squad" who will be able to practice with the main squad.

Winger Jordan Nolan, who recently signed an American Hockey League contract with the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre, will be in the camp on a professional tryout contract. Jim Rutherford recently cited him as a legitimate candidate to play in the NHL this season.

Winger Zach Aston-Reese is one of the forwards on the 40-man roster, but is recovering from shoulder surgery and will not be ready for the start of the regular season Jan. 13 in Philadelphia. -- Molinari

PENGUINS ONLY TEAM
TO TAKE PPP LOAN

8 p.m. Sunday: According to a report from the New York Post, the Penguins were the only team of the 123 teams in the Big Four men's professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) to receive a loan as part of the Paycheck Protection Program, which is "designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.”

The Penguins received $4.82 million through the program.

The Penguins issued a statement to the Post regarding the loan.

“With our arena being ordered closed since March and without any event revenue, we requested that our landlord, the Sports & Exhibition Authority (SEA), consider a temporary deferral of our annual rent payment due in September. This request was denied. Accordingly, we borrowed $4.8M under the CARES Act program in mid-August and applied the funds to our $6.1M September rent payment to the SEA, which was used by the public agency to make its required bond payment. The SEA indicated it is facing similar financial difficulties due to the closure of the SEA-owned Convention Center, and we are pleased these funds were used to support an important public agency during these challenging times.” -- Taylor

LETESTU RETIRES

5 p.m. Sunday: Former Penguins forward Mark Letestu announced his retirement Sunday after 12 NHL seasons.

Letestu, 35, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Penguins in 2007, and made his NHL debut in the 2009-10 season. He played in 85 games over three seasons with Pittsburgh, scoring 15 goals and 14 assists. The Penguins traded Letestu to Columbus during the 2011-12 season. Letestu played in 567 games over his 12 NHL seasons, scoring 93 goals and 117 assists. -- Taylor

JARRY GETS ENGAGED

7:56 p.m. Friday: Tristan Jarry chose Christmas to propose to Hannah Hatcher ... and he got a yes. So basically, he finally gets to be a No. 1 on the Penguins' depth chart, and now he's No. 2 in the future family hierarchy, right? -- DK

GOATS GALORE

6:18 p.m. Thursday: The annual images of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon training together in their native Nova Scotia never stop tantalizing. Seriously, just picture one shift these two would take together. -- DK

CANADIAN TEAMS STAY PUT

6:06 p.m. Thursday: Alas, the Jets won't be moving to Pittsburgh. (OK, a guy can dream, right?) Bill Daly, the NHL's No. 2 guy, said today that all seven Canadian franchises will find a way to stay north of the border, pending expected approval from provincial authorities up north. And yes, that includes Winnipeg, one of two teams currently booted from their buildings, along with the Sharks in San Jose, Calif. -- DK

BURKLE BUYS NEVERLAND

2:18 p.m. Thursday: Ron Burkle just bought the late Michael Jackson's old Neverland estate for $22 million, which, by the way, was precisely the size of his original investment in the Penguins. -- DK

PENGUINS OPEN WITH TWO
IN PHILADELPHIA

3:15 p.m. Wednesday: The Penguins will open the 2020-21 season in Philadelphia Jan. 13 and face the Flyers there again on Jan. 15 before returning home for a two-game series against Washington, Jan. 17 and 19. Below is the full schedule. -- Molinari

COVID PROTOCOLS 
FOR NEXT SEASON

5:40 p.m. Tuesday: The NHL released its protocols for preventing the spread of coronavirus next season.

The COVID-19 protocols can be found here.

The travel protocols can be found here. 

The protocols for handling positive tests can be found here.

A notable from last season's playoffs is that coaches must now wear masks while on the bench. The league will now also be releasing the names of players who test positive during the season, rather than using the "unfit to play" designation for all ailments like the league did in the playoffs. -- Taylor

FULL LIST OF CRITICAL
DATES FOR NEXT SEASON

5:30 p.m. Tuesday: The NHL announced the list of critical dates for the coming season, with the last possible day of the Cup Final coming on July 9. 

Dec. 31 - Training camps open for seven Clubs that did not participate in the resumption of play for the 2019-20 season (Anaheim, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose)

Jan. 3 - Training camps open for the remaining 24 teams

Jan. 13 - 2020-21 regular season begins

April 12 - Trade deadline (3 p.m. ET)

May 8 - Last day of regular season

*May 11 - Stanley Cup Playoffs begin

*July 9 - Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final

July 17 - Deadline for Protection Lists for Expansion Draft (5 p.m. ET)

July 21 - Expansion Draft for Seattle Kraken (8 p.m. ET) 

July 23 - Round 1 of NHL Draft

July 24 - Rounds 2-7 of NHL Draft

July 28 - Restricted Free Agent/Unrestricted Free Agent signing period begins (12 p.m. ET)

*subject to adjustment -- Taylor

NHL CHANGES
OFFSIDE RULE

5:20 p.m. Tuesday: The NHL on Tuesday announced a change to its offside rule that will hopefully cut back on video replays.

A player is not offside until both of his skates are completely over the plane of the blue line. Previously, a player had to have a skate touching the ice in order to be considered onside, but now, their skate must just be in the plane that extends upward from the blue line. Here is how the league puts the new rule" 

"A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with the blue line, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line. On his own side of the line shall be defined by a "plane" of the blue line which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards. If a player's skate has yet to break the "plane" prior to the puck crossing the leading edge, he is deemed to be on-side for the purpose of the off-side rule." -- Taylor

NBC SPORTS TO AIR
NWHL PLAYOFFS

5 p.m. Tuesday: The NWHL Isobel Cup Semifinals and Final will air live exclusively on NBC Sports on Feb. 4-5, the NWHL announced on Tuesday.

This will mark the first time that women’s professional hockey games will be shown live on a major national cable network in the U.S. 

“Our partnership with NBC Sports is monumental for the visibility of the NWHL,” said Commissioner Tyler Tumminia. “Never before has women’s professional hockey had the opportunity to reach so many people on American television in the United States. As we have seen with the WNBA and NWSL this year when women’s major league sports leagues are given a strong showcase, viewership is increased and countless new fans connect with the teams and players. NBC Sports provides the NWHL’s biggest games in our upcoming season in Lake Placid with best-in-class production and award-winning announcers. The NWHL will deliver intense, memorable hockey for the viewers on NBCSN as an Isobel Cup champion is crowned.”

The NWHL regular season and postseason are both being held in a bubble at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. this year. -- Taylor

SHEARY SIGNS
WITH CAPITALS

4:20 p.m. Tuesday: Former Penguins forward Conor Sheary signed a one-year deal with the Capitals worth $735,000 on Tuesday.

The signing brings the total of players from the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup-winning Penguins to three in Washington, with Sheary joining Justin Schultz and Carl Hagelin. -- Taylor

ENGELLAND RETIRES

1:36 p.m. Tuesday: Former Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland has announced his retirement. Engelland, whose game was built on toughness, broke into the NHL with the Penguins during the 2009-10 season and stayed with them until 2014, when he went to Calgary as a free agent. After three seasons with the Flames, he spent the past three seasons with Vegas. His career totals: 30 goals, 97 assists and 579 penalty minutes in 671 career games. -- Molinari

MORE PENGUINS PLAYERS
JOIN SKATES

3 p.m. Monday: More Penguins players joined the informal skates being held in Cranberry. The latest round of photos distributed to media by the Penguins include Brandon Tanev, Mark Jankowski, Teddy Blueger, Alex D'Orio, and a right-handed prospect who appears to be Josh Maniscalco, although it isn't clear from the picture.

They join Jake Guentzel, Brian Dumoulin, Casey DeSmith, Zach Trotman, Marcus Pettersson, Mike Matheson, Bryan Rust, Jared McCann, Chad Ruhwedel, and Colton Sceviour.

PENGUINS

Mike Matheson, Jared McCann, Alex D'Orio

PENGUINS

Josh Maniscalco, most likely

Here's the latest video of the skates. -- Taylor

CAMP OPENS JAN. 3 AT
PPG PAINTS ARENA 

10:10 a.m. Monday: The Penguins' training camp will open Jan. 3 at PPG Paints Arena. A maximum of 36 skaters and an unlimited number of goaltenders will be allowed to participate in those workouts.

Also, the team announced when when fans are allowed to attend games, season-ticket holders will have priority access to tickets, which probably will be distributed via a lottery. -- Molinari

NHL, NHLPA MAKE
IT OFFICIAL

3:30 p.m. Sunday: It's official. The NHL and NHLPA voted to approve the 56-game season to begin on Jan. 13, along with the details mentioned below in earlier entries.

Teams will exclusively play the teams in their own division, which means that the Penguins' only opponents next season will be the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, and, Capitals in what will be known in the East Division. The top four teams in each division will make the postseason.

The current plan is for each home team to play in their own arena, but the NHL left open the possibility of playing in neutral sites if necessary. -- Taylor

CLANG TESTS FOR
COVID ANTIBODIES

3:20 p.m. Sunday: Two members of Team Sweden's World Junior team staff tested positive for coronavirus after arriving in Edmonton, which meant that the team had to go into quarantine. The only players and staff who did have to quarantine were those who tested positive for the coronavirus antibodies, which means that they previously had the virus and recovered. Penguins goaltending prospect Calle Clang (third round, 2020) tested positive for antibodies, so he previously had coronavirus.

Clang and the other six players who had antibodies had their own practice led by the team doctor. -- Taylor

LEGARE TRADED
IN QMJHL

2 p.m. Sunday: Penguins prospect Nathan Legare (third round, 2019) was traded in the QMJHL.from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to the Val-d'Or Foreurs. Baie-Comeau, where Legare was captain, is ranked No. 14 out of the 18 QMJHL teams and is rebuilding, Val-d'Or ranks No. 2 in the league with a 10-1-2-2 record.

Val-d'Or paid a hefty price for Legare -- a first-round pick in the 2021 QMJHL draft, a first-, third-, and fourth-round pick in 2022, a third-round pick in 2023, and 16-year-old right wing Justin Sullivan.

Legare produced at a point-per-game rate (five goals, nine assists) in 14 games with Baie-Comeau this season. -- Taylor

MORE DETAILS ON
NEXT SEASON

2 p.m. Sunday: More details came out Sunday regarding the tentative agreement between the NHL and NHLPA for next season. Here's what they are, and how they could impact the Penguins.

• The trade deadline will be on April 12.

• No-movement clauses for next season have formally been extended through July so they apply for the Seattle expansion draft, as expected. The deadline for NHL teams to submit protected lists is July 17, the picks will be made July 21.

• The draft will be July 23-24, and free agency opens July 28.

• NHL teams will be required to carry three goaltenders during the season, although the third can be on the 4-6 player taxi squad and not on the active roster until needed. The likely candidate for the Penguins is Max Lagace, leaving Alex D'Orio and Emil Larmi in Wilkes-Barre to start.

• Training camps will be limited to 36 skaters and an unlimited number of goalies.

• The game limit for an entry-level slide, which allows rookies to play a "tryout" in the NHL before their entry-level contract kicks in, drops from nine games to six before the team must make a decision on whether to keep the player or return him to juniors. This would likely only apply to Samuel Poulin on the Penguins next season. He can play six games before the Penguins would have to make a decision. -- Taylor

KEY DATES FOR
NEXT SEASON

5:30 p.m. Saturday: Per Elliotte Friedman, these are some of the key dates for next season as part of Friday's tentative agreement on a season start date and length:

• The opt-out deadline is Dec. 24 for last season's non-postseason teams, Dec. 27 for postseason teams.
• Group II RFAs must be signed by Feb. 11 to play this season (usually Dec. 1).
• Players on one-year deals can sign extensions starting March 12 (usually Jan. 1). -- Taylor

TROTMAN BECOMES
A DAD

4 p.m. Saturday: Zach Trotman and his wife Jeanna welcomed their first child, a son named Luca.

Chad Ruhwedel and his wife Elle are expecting their first child next month. Bryan Rust and his wife Kelsey are expecting their first child in May. -- Taylor

AGREEMENT ON
DIVISIONS, PLAYOFFS

9:15 p.m. Friday: As an addition to the previous entry below, the NHL and NHLPA have a tentative agreement on how the playoff field will be set. There will be four divisions next season, and the top four teams in each division will make the playoffs.

The current divisions as planned are: 

North (Canadian): Flames, Oilers, Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs, Canucks, Jets
East: Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Capitals
Central: Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Blackhawks, Stars, Panthers, Predators, Lightning
West: Ducks, Coyotes, Avalanche, Kings, Wild, Sharks, Blues, Golden Knights

As noted below, it's not clear if the Canadian teams will be able to play in Canada next season. If they have to play in the U.S. next season, the divisions will be re-aligned. -- Taylor

NHL, NHLPA REACH
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

8 p.m. Friday: The NHL and NHLPA reached a tentative agreement for a 56-game season beginning Jan. 13 with no preseason exhibition games, according to several reports on Friday.

The NHLPA will have a conference call tonight to vote on the plan, and a NHL Board of Governors call will be scheduled for a later date to ratify the agreement, according to Elliotte Friedman.

It's still not clear if Canadian teams will be able to play the season in Canada due to the various provincial rules. Pierre LeBrun reported that a resolution is expected by Monday. If Canadian teams can't play in their home provinces, the two alternatives are less than ideal:

Some other notes from the agreement:

• The roster will remain at 23 players with an $81.5 million salary cap. There will be a taxi squad of 4-6 players who travel and practice with the team, but they are not on the active roster and get paid their AHL-level salaries.

• Players have the option to opt out of the season if they or a family member is high-risk. Frank Seravalli reported that it is believed that players who opt out will not be paid.

• The emergency recall rules will be more flexible. -- Taylor

PENGUINS MEET WITH
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL PATIENTS

7 p.m. Friday: Since Penguins players can't make visits to UPMC Children's Hospital in person this year, they met with patients virtually on Friday. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Jared McCann, Bryan Rust, John Marino, Brian Dumoulin and Brandon Tanev were some of the players who participated. -- Taylor

PPG PAINTS ARENA GETS ICE

4 p.m. Friday: For the first time since the season ended, ice is back at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins shared this video of the ice-making process. -- Taylor

JARRY'S COVID-INSPIRED MASK

12 a.m. Friday: Custom goalie mask painter Friedesigns shared a look at Tristan Jarry's mask for the upcoming season. 

The "Tom and Jerry" theme sticks, but with a twist. The characters are masked health workers fighting coronavirus. -- Taylor

LEE ARRIVES IN PITTSBURGH

11:50 p.m. Thursday: Penguins prospect Cam Lee arrived in Pittsburgh after starting his season in Slovakia on a loan agreement. His Slovak club said on Monday that Lee was being released from his loan because the Penguins wanted him back in Pittsburgh to quarantine in order to be ready for training camp. -- Taylor

CLANG SHARES
PICTURE WITH IDOL

11:40 p.m. Thursday: Penguins goaltending prospect Calle Clang posted a picture on his Instagram with fellow Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist after Lundqvist shared the news that he would be sitting out of the upcoming season due to a heart condition. 

When I spoke with Clang last month, he told me that Lundqvist was his idol growing up.

"I always loved watching Swedish guys (as a kid)," he said. "For sure, Henrik Lundqvist, growing up as a young Swedish goalie has always been an idol for myself and many other young Swedish goalies."

ESPN'S TOP 100 PROSPECTS

7 p.m. Thursday: ESPN ranked its top 100 NHL-affiliated prospects, with the cutoff being 26 games played in a single season or 50 career games in the NHL. Penguins prospect Samuel Poulin was the only Penguins prospect to even make the list (even including the seven honorable mentions) and he was ranked No. 63.

It's easy to write off anything hockey-related from ESPN, but that's pretty standard for these big league-wide lists. The only other similar up-to-date one from this offseason that I see is from The Hockey Writers, which ranks Poulin No. 74 and also includes Pierre-Olivier Joseph at No. 94.

The Athletic national prospect writer Scott Wheeler recently put out a list of the top 50 prospects, and no Penguins were included on the list. -- Taylor

ISSUES WITH CANADIAN
TEAMS PLAYING AT HOME

7 p.m. Thursday: Nothing is set yet as far as divisional alignment in the NHL for next season, but there could be a road block with the current proposed plan of having an all-Canadian division. It's not clear if the provinces in which Canadian teams play will permit teams to resume playing. If that's the case, then Canadian teams might have to move to the U.S. for the coming season, which would eliminate the need for an all-Canadian division. -- Taylor

LUNDQVIST SITTING OUT
NEXT SEASON

1 p.m. Thursday: The Penguins won't be seeing Henrik Lundqvist in net in Washington next season. The goaltender announced Thursday that he would be sitting out of the coming season (but not officially retiring yet) due to a heart condition. -- Taylor

JAGR SCORES POINT
IN SEASON DEBUT

1 p.m. Thursday: As an update to the entry directly below, Jaromir Jagr scored one primary assist in his season debut with Kladno. -- Taylor

JAGR RETURNS TO
KLADNO'S LINEUP

12 p.m. Wednesday: Jaromir Jagr returns to Kladno's lineup in the second-tier Czech league for his first game of the season, and his first game in 284 days. He'll make his season debut on Kladno's fourth line. -- Taylor

PENGUINS SKATING
IN CRANBERRY

7 p.m. Tuesday: Penguins players have been slowly trickling back into town and joining informal player skates in Cranberry. The Penguins shared this look at the skate on Tuesday: 

The Penguins said in a release that players participating in the skates are tested daily, screened upon arrival and only permitted to skate in small groups at this time. The skates are closed to media and the public.

From the pictures sent to media, it looks like the players in town include Guentzel, Dumoulin, DeSmith, Trotman, Pettersson, Matheson, Rust, McCann, Ruhwedel, and Sceviour. -- Taylor